Miya Barsat ke mausiqi ne tumhare Andaaz ko dho diya

By

Dharma Kirthi

Sumadhur Shubhoday Saathiyon..!!!

Today I am sharing some interesting information about Shankar Jaikishan, which may not be very new, but, important all the same.

Their very first movie was record breaking , is an understatement. Barsat was released in the same year as Mahboob Khan’s Andaaz and by the time Barsat was released Andaaz was a huge success, musically and box office as well.

But once Barsat hit the screens, Andaaz was lost; such was the impact, that Mahboob Khan himself remarked to Naushad, “Miya Barsat ke mausici ne tumhare Andaaz ko dho diya“. This remark by Mahboob Khan , hit Naushad very deeply. Till then Naushad was the be all and end all of Hindi cinema, and was there for ages. Known to be a great Ustad of Hindustani Music..

Barsat’s music as we all know was path breaking,and new every which way.Rich in orchestra, out of the box composition, which no one could type cast in a limited mold. Every song had a new feel , western symphony style orchestra, tunes very native in feel and rhythm Indian..pace energetic. In all a novel experience, which took the listeners and pundits by storm.

The as , it happens whenever you see a new kid on the block, there is always that analysis, about their strengths etc. so they were branded as a flash in the pan, lacking traditional strength etc..

Few years later, 7 to be precise, Bharat Bhushan and his friends planned to make Basant Bahar, and signed Anil Biswas, another doyen of music those days. Financiers refused to accept Anil Biswas. They approached Naushad, who refused saying, no one can ever re create another Baiju Bawra..not even himself.

At this stage Chandrashekhar, actor and friend of Shankar , who was associated with the making of Basant Bahar, approached Shankar, and told him the developments. Shankar, instantly accepted the challenge thrown by Naushad in his refusal..and agreed to take up with remuneration not being an issue, despite the fact, that they were already big names.

The story of Basant Bahar is based on the Kannada novel “Hamsageethe” by legendary novelist Tarasu. “Hamasa” means swan and “Geethe” means song. It is believed that before a swan dies,it will sing without opening its mouth. That mutter of melody is believed to be unmatched since any scene of lyricism falls short of its reach.( courtesy Wiki)

With such an interesting subject and an existing challenge , SJ, rose to the occasion and scored a music which till date is unheard of. Every frame, right from the title music, which is a title song in chorus..to the last number, duniya na bhaye mohe ab to bulaale.. music is divine, an offering to Maa Saraswati..

SJ, made sure that purity of classical music and tunes was maintained for their compositions, and used the skills of masters like Pt Pannalal Ghosh the Flute maestro , and Pt Bhimsen Joshi..a vocalist par excellence..and Nikhil Bannerjee a master Sitar player…!

This album, shut the critics up. Their mastery on every genre was established beyond doubt. I guess, SJ must remain grateful to Naushad for his challenge, which brought out the best in them.

1956, the year I am born, happens to be a landmark year for SJ’s career. They had 7 releases , starting with Basant Bahar, Chori Chori, Halaku, Kismat ka Khel, New Delhi, Patrani and Rajhat. Can any composer ever give such a series of hit tracks..in one year. Chori Chori went on to win them their first Filmfare Award. Had some of these movies released in different years, quite a few of them would have won the award. That they competed with their own work is evident in this list of movies.

Each of the above movies had a different genre and SJ excelled in each of them. Such was their authority and command over music for films. Always , dong full justice to the story and period.

I can go on and on.. but, will now let you enjoy this masterpiece composition, by Pt Bhimsen Joshi and Manna Dey.. I wish some of our knowledgeable members throw light on the raagas etc..

Taiyeb ShaikhAjay Dagaonkar ji great post. Both Shankar & Jaikishen were great humans too. Competition may create jealousy & Superiority might bring egoism. So they were perfect professionals. Hats off to SJ. Thanks for great post. Have a great weekend.

Rajan ShahDharma Kirthiji. Thanks for the great information. This song is in the raag Basant, which cannot be sung without proper riyaz and you need deep knowledge of indian raaga to render this. Initially Manna saab refused to sing this song with Pandit Bhimsen as Bhimsenji was a trained classical singer. But it was on the insistence of Shankarji that Manna saab obliged and the song went on to be termed as Iconic.

Dharma KirthiThank you Rajanji for your appreciation and sharing the information on the raaga and story behind Manna da…being reluctant to sing..it was not only Shankarji who convinced him but, Manna da’s wife also pushed him..Manna da had two objections…one is singing with Pt Bhimsen ji and the second one is defeating Panditji in the song…which he refused to accept..

Hemantkumar PawarAgain a very nice write-up, this time on a classical number from Basant Bahar, a hit film of its period and still remembered for its classical music.The music and all compositions in this film created history in another context.Seven years prior to i…See More

Dharma KirthiThat’s an excellent critique on evaluation of classical music in Hindi cinema. I agree with you about Baiju Bawra being an overrated album in this genre..when some other classic Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje…not getting its due…and over a period of tim…See More

Hemantkumar PawarDada, I am very much humbled now !I sure will participate regularly, no doubt !!About Zanak Zanak Payal Baje, I have always felt a gross injustice has been done to shantaram bapu by the film and music critics of all times !!!

Rajan ShahHemantkumar Pawarji. Thanks for he great article. I agree jhanak jhanak payal released in 1955 had some great songs composed by the grossly underrated composer Shri Vasant Desai. He was a man proficent in classical music. A very unassuming softspoken down to earth man, he never got his due.

Harishchandra PatilDharma this is great post.The jugalbandi is on raga Basant Bahar and it is performed in screen by Parshuram Sanas a old timer actor from Prabhat films. Rest are already known. …See More